Interlocking roofing tile



July 7, 1953 WEBER 2,644,410

INTERLOCKING ROOFING TILE Filed Nov. 27, 1951 Ficm.

Fl INVENTOR.

FRED -.WEBER,

Arm/aver Patented July 7, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INTERLOCKING ROOFING TIIZE .Fred L. Weber, Miami, Fla.

APDlication'November 27, 1951, Serial No. 258,414

'2 Claims. 1

' This invention relates to roof construction and has particular reference to improved tiles of the precast type having interlocking means therebetween.

Considerable difiiculty has'been experienced in the use of cement tile, either of the fiat or barrel type, in maintaining the tile in position upon the roof during extremely high winds, due'largely to "faulty installations and the failure of the mechanics to properly cement the tiles in their overlapping engagement or in other instances where the cement bond may be broken, permitting high winds to gradually loosen a tile or tiles, after which whole areas of tiles are progressively blown from the roof.

It is an object of the present invention to form either a fiat or barrel tile that is provided with an integral lug upon its under side that has embedded therein an interlocking key that projects forward to engage under the preceding tile in .a manner that will successfully prevent the tile being .aceidently elevated by winds or otherwise, it being obvious, that the first course of tile is securely anchored to the roof, with each succeeding course being interlocked.

A further object of the invention resides in the novel form of lugs for the embedding and support of the keys, whereby the lugs serve the dual purpose of supporting the keys and at the same time serve as a means to accurately gauge the degree of overlap of the tiles, thus facilitating the installation of the tiles in a more even and well lined manner.

Another object of the invention resides in the simplicity of construction, adding relativelylittle to the cost of conventional manufacture of the tile, requires no expensive forms for casting or molding the tile with the lug integral and results in a roofing tile that is highly effective in use and will withstand winds of high velocity without becoming dislodged.

Details of construction and operation and a novel form of manufacture, will be more clearly pointed out in detail during the course of the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein has been illustrated a preferred form of the tile and wherein like characters of reference are employed to denote like parts throughout the several figures.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a fragmentary view of a portion of a roof, showing the overlapping form of barrel tile to which the invention is applicable,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal section through a series of tiles, showing the invention in' use and taken on line 22 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary underside plan view of a tile that is constructed in accordance with the invention,

Figure 4 is a forward end View of the tile,

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentaryvertical longitudinal section of the tile, taken on line 5-5 of Figure 3 and,

Figure 6 is a fragmentary vertical longitudinal sectional view of a tile casting form, showing the manner of assembling and casting the lug and key in position.

Referring specifically to 'the drawings, the

numeral '5 designates a conventional, tile roof arrangement, that embodies courses of barrel tiles in reverse and overlapping manner common to roofs of this construction. The tile may be of uniform thickness or may taper toward its edges. The tile generally employed, tapers rearwardly, as shown. Tile of the barrel type are usually formed upon an arcuate form 6, shown in Figure 6, with the tile being formed of sand and cement having no metallic reinforcing. The form 5 is provided with a pocket I, the front wall of which is straight, While the bottom and side walls are rounded or curved in a manner to facilitate the removal of the tile from the form with the lug integral. The pocket upon its front wall, is slotted at 8; The form is further apertured at 9.

An interlocking key [0 is adapted to be cast into the lug ll, shown clearly in section in Figure 5, with a forward projecting end of the key being preferably parallel with the inner longitudinal wall of the tile. ably formed of a suitable gauge metal wire of sumcient hardness to retard accidental bending. The embedded portion I2 of the key is curved upward and toward the rear of the lug, with its rear. terminal end I3 bent downwardly for a an initial seating within the aperture 9.

In the forming or molding of the tile, the form 6 is arranged in the usual and well known manner and a key I0 positioned within the pocket I, with the end !3 engaging within the opening 3 and with the forward end passing through the slot 3. The cement is then formed over the form 6, filling the pocket 1 and em-.

bedding the key permanently throughout the full length of the lug I l When the cement has sufficiently set to permit handling, the tile is elevated at its rear end, causing the lug ll, due to its curvature, to easily disengage the pocket I. The slot 8 permits the key In freedom of vertical movement during the removal of the tile.

In the use of the tile, the first course is laid and cemented or bonded along the lower edge The key It is prefer- V of the roof. The next and succeeding courses of tile are then positioned in overlapping engagement with the preceding course, in each instance, the degree of overlap being determined by the abutment of the flat front wall of the lug I l against the rear end of the preceding tile. As each tile is positioned in overlapping engagement with the preceding tile, the key [0 projects thereunder for its full exposed length, thereby securely locking the tiles together against vertical displacement. The key [0 preferably has a snug engagement with the preceding tile to avoid any possible chattering or movement of the tiles during heavy winds or other abnormal conditions.

It will be apparent dtuing the course of the following description that a very novel and effective tile has been provided which will permit rapid installation of a roof, with all the tiles being accurately lined up throughout the several courses. The tile in the several courses are interlocked, one with another over the entire roof, with the tiles'being securely maintained against displacement. If found desirable, the overlapping ends of the tile may be'further bonded together with mortar. The novel interlocking of the tile readily adapts itself to the well known fiat cement shingle tile. The tile is easily and quickly formed and requires no expensive forms that permit the casting of the integral lug with its embedded key.

limited to the precise positioning of the lug H,

nor to the manner of forming the tile, but that changes may be made as readily fall within the spirit of the invention or the scope of the sub- J'oined claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An interlocking roofing tile for use upon a roof having multiple courses of aligned rows of tiles in overlapping relation that consists of a barrel tile formed of cement and being semicylindrical in transverse cross-section, an integral lug formed on the underside of the tile inwardly from one end and equidistantly spaced from the sides of the tile, the lug having a fiat forward end with its body portion tapering rearwardly and outwardly from the flat end, a metallic key embedded in the lug for its full length, with the key projecting forwardly from the flat end in spaced parallelism with the inner face of the tile, and spacing of the key from the inner face being substantially equal to the thickness of the tile to be overlapped in a preceding course,

metallic wire with the embedded portion being upwardly and rearwardly curved and with the rear terminal end downwardly bent in hook form, the lug being transversely tapered and rearwardly and upwardly curved to terminate adjacent the hook portion of the key.

FRED L. WEBER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

